Help From an Unexpected Source
by Jainaxox
Summary: Ema never liked Klavier. Klavier was always ambivalent towards Ema. Yet, when push comes to shove, the two of them will be there for one another. Written for the Kink Meme, FRIENDSHIP FIC


The room was quiet. Not the calm, peaceful kind of quiet that was good for thinking, but the eerie, suffocating quiet that made Klavier feel like pulling his hair out. To put on a CD might have been the obvious solution, but the bad memories of his best friend, the best friend he helped put in jail, still lingered fresh in his mind. Klavier let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his blond bangs. What was he doing here, anyway? His office usually was his haven, a place where he was able to eagerly work on his next case while listening to his music, but this time was different.

Klavier let out another sigh. _You were the one who helped get them convicted, you know_. I know. _They were criminals, and that was that_. They were also the people closest to me. _Did you plan to cover for them, for what they did?_ No but…I could have done something. Anything.

A loud creaking sound jolted Klavier out of his musings as he turned to see a brown-haired detective in a lab coat, munching on Snackoos with a pile of papers held under her arm. "Hey," she muttered. "These are the papers for the case. Chief Gumshoe said to drop them off here, and you're supposed to finish filling them out by tomorrow."

"Well, I'm honored that the Fraulein detective decided to drop them off in person! And here I thought you would have done anything to get out of seeing me!" Klavier numbly noticed how easy it was for him to pretend like nothing was wrong. Like his brother and best friend was sitting at home, reading a novel or writing song lyrics instead of sitting in a prison cell waiting for an official sentence. Then again, Klavier was a performer, and one of the first rules of showbiz was to always give the audience a smile. Klavier took the papers for Ema and put them on his desk and sat back down in his chair.

"Well, it was nice that you dropped by for this little visit. You should do it again sometime, ja?" Klavier gave Ema the same dazzling smile he gave her before, but the detective stayed put and bit her lip, like there was something she wanted to say but didn't know how to phrase it.

"Look," Ema muttered as put a hand on her hip and sighed. "Do you really want to take this case? I mean, I'm sure the Chief could hand the case over to some other prosecutor; he's pretty understanding like that. If you're just going to do a crappy job, it's better to give the case to a prosecutor who will give it their all."

Klavier inwardly bristled at this remark, but did not let it show. "And just what, dear Fraulein, makes you think the job I'll do is 'crappy'. I can assure you I always give cases my all, no matter what is at stake." Another smile, for good measure.

Ema snorted as she popped another Snackoo in her mouth. "Oh, please. Look, you might have the whole prosecutor's office fooled, but you can't fool me. Klavier, you're best friend, along with your brother, was sent to jail. Do you actually think I believe for one second that you're not affected by this?" Ema popped another Snackoo in her mouth. "You might act like it's no big deal, but having a sibling arrested is a big deal. A really big deal."

"Well, Fraulein, I do not think you are in my position, so I find it hard to believe that you can understand my current predicament. Kristoph and Daryan are criminals. That's all there is to it." Klavier watched as Ema continued to munch on her snack.  


"I was," she muttered, as she glanced at the CD's scattered about the room.

"…come again?"

"I said I was. In your predicament, I mean." Ema turned her gaze from the Cd's on the floor and looked Klavier in the eye. "My sister was arrested about nine years ago. She was innocent of the murder, but during that time it was one of the most painful experiences of my life."

"But that's the thing: your sister was innocent." To Klavier's chagrin, a note of frustration escaped into his voice. How could Ema, the detective that gave him grief all those times, possible try to emphasize with him? "My brother killed two people, and tried to murder a twelve year old girl. How can you say those experiences are similar?" At this point, Klavier didn't care whether or not Ema knew he was annoyed. All he wanted was for her to leave.

"I said she was innocent of murder, but she still was guilty of other things, like blackmail, and accompanying a murderer," Ema's gaze fell to the floor as her voice softened "all for my sake."

"All for your sake?" Klavier let out a hoarse laugh. "Fraulein Detective, I was merely a pawn in my brother's sick game! He didn't care what happened to me! All my life, it was the same. Now he's sitting in prison, getting what he deserves. Why should that bother me?"

"You still love him." Ema replied simply. Klavier stared at Ema, at a loss for words.

"Come again?"

"He's your sibling. You love him. You still care for Daryan too, if these CD's are any indication," Ema gestured to the various Gavineers CD's spread across the floor. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're like an abused little puppy. Even when you keep getting kicked you still come back. What you have to realize, though, is that you need to move on. Don't forget them, not by a long shot. You just need to learn how to go on with your life."

"But…how? How am I supposed to do that? My brother, and Daryan…they were such a big part of my life. I can't just go on. It's just…"Klavier trailed off as Ema shoved her bag of Snackoos into his arms. "What's this? Your snacks? What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Eat them, of course." she replied, rolling her eyes. "After my sister went to prison, I bought these when I went to Europe. They're really good. They kinda help numb the pain a little." Ema shrugged. "As for how you're supposed to move on…well, I'm not sure. It's all up to you, I guess. Now, if that's all we're saying here, then I better get going. I'm supposed to report back to the Chief before five." The detective turned around and started to head out the door.

"Wait!" Klavier called. Ema turned around and looked at him. "Well, these snacks…do you want them back? You gave me the whole bag after all."

"I've got plenty of them back home, don't worry about it. And Klavier…" she looked him in the eye. "I'm pulling you off this case. I'm not doing it to act like a jerk or anything, but it's better 

for you if you don't take this one."

"Why…why are you doing this?" Klavier finally asked. "I always got the distinct impression you were not as fond of me as others are."

Ema paused before answering. "Well…I guess you're my co-worker. It's only natural. And in all honesty…"she scowled as she muttered something under her breath. "you'rereallynotasbadasimakeyououttobeiguess"

Klavier couldn't hear exactly what she said, but he got the general idea and smiled, his first real one in a long time.

"Hey…Fraulein Detective?"

"…what?"

"Thanks."

Ema smiled.


End file.
